Footsie bird game device

ABSTRACT

A game device including a hollow lightweight cylindrically shaped disc like member having an aperture in the center of the top surface thereof and extending axially therethrough into an interior compartment in the disc member, and a set of a plurality of feathers each having their shaft portions connected together and extending through the center of a flat washer-like member fabricated of a flexible material, the feathers being joined to the disc member by the washer-like member and joined feather shafts being forced axially through the top surface opening into the disc compartment with the washer being retained within the compartment and with the feathers projecting upwardly and radially outwardly from the disc top surface the disc intended to be kicked vertically repeatedly with an individual&#39;&#39;s feet to retain the disc in the air for the longest period of time thus facilitating an individual&#39;&#39;s development of coordination along with providing exercise to the muscles of the individual&#39;&#39;s legs.

United States atet 1191 Wong [ Sept. 10, 1974 FOOTSIE BIRD GAME DEVICE[76] Inventor: Raymond Woo Wong, 900 Richard Ln., Danville. Calif. 94526221 Filed: Sept. 26, 1973 21 Appl. No.: 401,069

[52] US. Cl 273/106 A [51] Int. Cl A631) 67/18 [58] Field of Search273/106 R, 106 A, 106.5 C

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,012,730 8/1935 Reid273/106 A 2,911,219 11/1959 Arokiasamy... 273/106 A 3,507,494 4/1970Finkel 273/106 A X 3,749,403 7/1973 Austin et al 273/106.5 C

FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 472,050 3/1951 Canada 273/106 A 556,7244/1923 France 273/106 A 1,035,547 7/1958 Germany 273/106 A 617,0683/1961 Canada 273/106 A Primary Examiner-Paul E. Shapiro 57 ABS :1

A game device including a hollow lightweight cylindri cally shaped disclike member having an aperture in the center of the top surface thereofand extending axially therethrough into an interior compartment in thedisc member, and a set of a plurality of feathers each having theirshaft portions connected together and extending through the center of aflat washer-like member fabricated of a flexible material, the feathersbeing joined to the disc member by the washer-like member and joinedfeather shafts being forced axially through the top surface opening intothe disc compartment with the washer being retained within thecompartment and with the feathers projecting upwardly and radiallyoutwardly from the disc top surface the disc intended to be kickedvertically repeatedly with an individuals feet to retain the disc in theair for the longest period of time thus facilitating an individualsdevelopment of coordination along with providing exercise to the musclesof the individuals legs.

3 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures FOOTSIE BIRD GAME DEVICE BACKGROUND OF THEINVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates generally togame devices or amusement devices and more particularly to a novel gamedevice permitting play by one or more players in a manner to facilitatethe development of coordination and exercise of the muscles of a personor persons playing with the game device.

2. Description of the Prior Art Among those games most popular to bothchildren and adults alike are games requiring physical abilities such asrunning, jumping, skipping, kicking and the like. While games areavailable utilizing such skills among players, such as the games ofbasketball, football, and the like, such games require a plurality ofplayers along with a great amount of playing space and associatedmarkings and equipment such that these games are not readily playable byonly one or two indi viduals, nor is practice of many of these gamespossible by a single individual.

While other games are known, such as the kicking of a ball betweenindividuals, such also require a large amount of space to be played andalso requires that an individual kicking the ball must spend a greatdeal of time chasing the same such that soon players become bored withthe game as more time is spent chasing the ball than in actual play withthe same.

It would thus be desirable to provide a game device providing all of thefun and enjoyment of kicking along with the challenge of a competitivesport while eliminating any chasing of the game device when the same ismissed by one of the players.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention remedies and overcomesall of the foregoing deficiencies and disadvantages of presentlyavailable game devices by providing a novel game device to be kickedbetween players or to be repeatedly kicked by a single player, suchdevice not having to be chased when missed as the same will fall to theground substantially adjacent the player doing the kicking or the playerwho missed the kicked device.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a game device whichrequires the active participation of the person or persons playing withthe game device with such participation developing coordination andagility of the person while providing a healthy exercising of the legmuscles in that the game device requires that a light weight feathereddisc be maintained in the Yet still a further feature of the presentinvention is to provide a game device which is highly entertaining tochildren and adults and which is an excellent family game thusencouraging family togetherness for the play of the same.

The provision of a game device, such as briefly out lined above, andpossessing the stated advantages, constitutes the principal features ofthe present invention. The provision of a game device which isrelatively simple in its construction and which therefore may be readilymanufactured at a relatively low cost and by simple manufacturingmethods; one which is devoid of moving parts and which therefore isunlikely to get out of order; one which is rugged and durable and whichtherefore may be guaranteed by the manufacturer to withstand roughusage; one which is aesthetically pleasing and refined in appearance;and one which, other wise, is well adapted to perform the servicesrequired of it, are further desirable features which have been borne inmind in the production and development of the present invention.

Other features and advantages of this invention will be apparent duringthe course of the following description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the accompanying drawings forming apart of this specification, and in which like reference characters areemployed to designate like parts throughout the same:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the manner in which the gamedevice of the present invention is employed;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the feather dart-like member forming thegame device of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of the game device which is partiallybroken away to illustrate the securement of the feathers in the disc;and

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary front elevational view of a modified form of theinvention, partially broken away to illustrate the replaceability of thedisc or of the feathers.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to the drawingsthere is illustrated a preferred form of a game device embodying theinven tion and designated in its entirety by the reference numeral 10and which is comprised-of two components parts, namely a set ofsymmetrically arranged feathers 11 having the stems thereof attached toa disc 12. The feathers 11 may be manufactured out of rubber, plastic,or any other suitable satisfactory material with the preferredembodiment having the feathers manufactured of injection moldedpolyethylene in a variety of colors. The disc 12 may be manufactured outof wood, rubber, plastic or any other suitable satisfactory material,with the preferred embodiment being fabricated of injection molded orblow molded polyethylene so as to form a hollow and light weight disc.As seen in FIG. 4, a further preferred fabrication is to provide thedisc in the form of a flexible sponge rubber to provide even a moreflexible and resilient type disc.

The disc 12 is of a hollow cylindrical shape having a top surface 21, abottom surface 22, depending cylindrical side walls 23, and an aperture24 defined axially centrally of the top surface 21 and extendingtherethrough. Defined intermediate top and bottom surfaces 21 and 22 andbetween the interior surfaces of the side walls 23 is a hollowair-filled compartment 25 thus providing that the disc 12 is of a lightweight. However, it

is to be understood that compartment 25 may be filled with variousweighted substances if a weighted disc is desired, or alternatively, thedisc 12 may be formed of a solid material without having compartment 25formed therein.

The feathers 11 comprise four separate feathers 31-35 which aresymmetrically disposed about the axis of the disc 12 with the stems 35of the feathers being joined together and terminating in the form of anenlarged flexible washer like member 36, the washer 36 and stems 35adapted to be axially aligned with opening 24 and then forced inwardlytherethrough until the washer 36 is completely within the compartment 25with the combined diameter of the stems 35 being greater than thediameter of the opening 24 so as to re tain the feathers firmly attachedto the disc 12. The feathers then may be solvent bonded to the disc,heat sealed thereto, or alternatively, may be frictionally retainedtherein so as to permit ready replacement of the feathers or of the discif one or the other should wear out or become accidentally broken ordestroyed during play with the device.

Referring now to FIG. 4 there is illustrated a modified form of theinvention wherein the disc 12 is formed of a resilient sponge rubberhaving a top surface 21, a bottom surface 22, and side walls 23, andhaving a cylindrical compartment 25' disposed axially of the disc andextending partially therethrough and opening out of the top surface 21.The stems 35 of the feathers l 1 terminate in an elongated cylindricalmember 36 having a diameter equal to or slightly greater than thediameter of the opening 24' and having a length equal to the depth ofthe opening such that the feathers may be detachably secured to the discby axially aligning the member 36 with opening 24' and then forcablyinserting the same downwardly into the opening to frictionally retainthe same therein, such as shown in FIG. 4. It is to be understood that,if desired, the member 36' may be permanently secured to the disc 12 byany suitable satisfactory manner, such as by glues, solvent bonding, andthe like.

In playing the game, the game device is held in either hand of either ofthe players 41 or 42 using the device and is then dropped onto theplayers foot at which time the player kicks the device vertically andforwardly toward the opposite player, such as designated by arrow 43 inFIG. 1, the object being to keep the game device in the air withoutletting it hit the ground. The person that misses the device and permitsit to strike the ground may be considered the loser.

In an alternative'method of play, a single player holds the device 10and then drops it vertically downwardly in a manner to kick it with theplayers foot, the object of the game being to keep the device in the airwithout letting it hit the ground by having the player repeatedly kickthe device vertically with the players foot. In this manner a player canplay as an individual against the clock by timing themselves todetermine how long they can keep the device in the air without lettingit hit the ground, or alternatively, players may play against each othercompetitively in that the person that can keep the device in the airwithout hitting the ground for the longest period of time may beconsidered the winner.

The game device may be employed indoors or outdoors and is primarilyadapted for use by children or others who are quite active and whichthus serves in children to assist and help in the developing ofcoordination of the child as well as providing a healthy exercising ofthe muscles of the legs, with the game further developing agility of theplayer using the device in a constant effort to keep the device out ofcontact with the ground.

It is to be understood that the form of this invention herewith shownand described is to be taken as preferred examples of the same, and thatthis invention is not to be limited to the exact arrangement of partsshown in the accompanying drawings or described in this specification asvarious changes in the details of construction as to shape, size, andarrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from thespirit of the invention, the scope of the novel concepts thereof, or thescope of the sub-joined claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed 1. A game devicecomprising a hollow cylindrical disc like member having a circular topsurface, a circular bottom surface, and depending cylindrical side wallsinterconnecting the peripheral edges of the top and bottom surfacesrespectively, defining an interior compartment therein, an openingdisposed centrally in the disc top surface and extending axiallytherethrough into the compartment, a plurality of feathers each having ashaft portion, the shafts of the feathers being connected together andjoined integrally to a substantially flat washer-like member projectingradially outwardly from the joined feather shafts and fabricated of aflexible material, the combined overall diameters of the joined shaftsbeing slightly larger than the diameter of the top surface opening, thefeathers adapted to be joined to the disc by axially aligning thewasher-like member and joined shafts with the top surface opening andthen forcing the feathers inwardly of the opening into the compartmentsuch that the washer is completely contained within the compartment withthe shafts of the feathers secured in the top surface opening with thefeathers projecting upwardly and radially outwardly therefrom.

2. The game device as set forth in claim 1 wherein the disc is formed ofpolyethylene plastic material.

3. The game device as set forth in claim 2 wherein the feathers comprisefour separate symmetrically disposed feathers substantially equal insize and configuration.

1. A game device comprising a hollow cylindrical disc like member havinga circular top surface, a circular bottom surface, and dependingcylindrical side walls interconnecting the peripheral edges of the topand bottom surfaces respectively, defining an interior compartmenttherein, an opening disposed centrally in the disc top surface andextending axially therethrough into the compartment, a plurality offeathers each having a shaft portion, the shafts of the feathers beingconnected together and joined integrally to a substantially flatwasher-like member projecting radially outwardly from the joined feathershafts and fabricated of a flexible material, the combined overalldiameters of the joined shafts being slightly larger than the diameterof the top surface opening, the feathers adapted to be joined to thedisc by axially aligning the washerlike member and joined shafts withthe top surface opening and then forcing the feathers inwardly of theopening into the compartment such that the washer is completelycontained within the compartment with the shafts of the feathers securedin the top surface opening with the feathers projecting upwardly andradially outwardly therefrom.
 2. The game device as set forth in claim 1wherein the disc is formed of polyethylene plastic material.
 3. The gamedevice as set forth in claim 2 wherein the feathers comprise fourseparate symmetrically disposed feathers substantially equal in size andconfiguration.